Szczykutowicz left Thursday, flying from Bay County to Atlanta, then to Frankfort, Germany and finally landing in Rome.

Szczykutowicz met Pope John Paul II five times, twice in a general audience and three times in private. Monsignor is an honorary designation for Catholic priests bestowed by the pope. The last time was in 2002 when John Paul’s health was already fading. Szczykutowicz was one of 180 priests who celebrated a private mass with the pope and were thanked personally by him.

“It was unbelievable,” Szczykutowicz said. “When you are close to the man, you don’t know what to say.”

One of those other private meetings was when the 81-year-old Szczykutowicz was much younger, in the early 1980s. He was one of the priests celebrating mass with the pope. John Paul introduced himself to each clergy member. Szczykutowicz had already met John Paul previously. When the pope reached Szczykutowicz he said, “Oh, you again.” Szczykutowicz quickly shook off the playful greeting, telling John Paul how he had conducted a living rosary to honor the pope in Fort Walton Beach after he was shot four times in an assassination attempt. John Paul thanked him and the parishioners in Fort Walton Beach for their prayers.

“I still have that rosary,” Szczykutowicz said. “It’s my treasure.”

To Szczykutowicz, John Paul II was saint-like. In person, he said the pope was caring and compassionate. He marveled at John Paul’s capacity for forgiveness. John Paul visited his would-be assassin in jail, forgave him, and asked the Italian president for a pardon.

Szczykutowicz left Thursday, flying from Bay County to Atlanta, then to Frankfort, Germany and finally landing in Rome.

Szczykutowicz met Pope John Paul II five times, twice in a general audience and three times in private. Monsignor is an honorary designation for Catholic priests bestowed by the pope. The last time was in 2002 when John Paul’s health was already fading. Szczykutowicz was one of 180 priests who celebrated a private mass with the pope and were thanked personally by him.

“It was unbelievable,” Szczykutowicz said. “When you are close to the man, you don’t know what to say.”

One of those other private meetings was when the 81-year-old Szczykutowicz was much younger, in the early 1980s. He was one of the priests celebrating mass with the pope. John Paul introduced himself to each clergy member. Szczykutowicz had already met John Paul previously. When the pope reached Szczykutowicz he said, “Oh, you again.” Szczykutowicz quickly shook off the playful greeting, telling John Paul how he had conducted a living rosary to honor the pope in Fort Walton Beach after he was shot four times in an assassination attempt. John Paul thanked him and the parishioners in Fort Walton Beach for their prayers.

“I still have that rosary,” Szczykutowicz said. “It’s my treasure.”

To Szczykutowicz, John Paul II was saint-like. In person, he said the pope was caring and compassionate. He marveled at John Paul’s capacity for forgiveness. John Paul visited his would-be assassin in jail, forgave him, and asked the Italian president for a pardon.

“He was Christ-like,” Szczykutowicz said. “He put it into practice. He put the Gospel into daily life.”

Szczykutowicz noted John Paul’s role in ending communism in Eastern Europe. Szczykutowicz and John Paul are both Polish, John Paul hailing from Krakow and Szczykutowicz growing up in a village in between Krakow and Warsaw. Szczykutowicz was ordained in the 1950s and worked in Poland until the 1970s. That entire time the country was under control of the Soviet Union.

While Szczykutowicz was allowed to practice and teach, he always was wary of reprisal from the communist party. Soon after he was ordained, he was arrested, Oct. 13, 1958, a date burned into his memory. The charge was teaching lessons to overthrow the government. Szczykutowicz was held for 48 hours and threatened with a sentence of three years in prison. Police were unable to prove Szczykutowicz was teaching rebellious lessons, mostly because he was teaching the normal lessons of the church, but he was forced to transfer to a different city.

Even though he never had another run-in with the law, Szczykutowicz felt the grip of communism on his freedom. At one time, he traveled between villages using a bicycle. When he later had access to a motorcycle, he knew this was a luxury.

“They persecuted catholics like Americans persecuted blacks,” Szczykutowicz said. “You go through hell with communism and you appreciate the freedom you have here.”

By way of East Berlin, West Germany, London and Canada, Szczykutowicz made his way out of Poland and into the United States. He started his ministry in Chatham, Mich., moved to Florida in 1980 and has been at St. Theresa’s for 27 years.

Szczykutowicz will be just one of almost 7 million people attending the ceremony Sunday. About 7 million people attended John Paul’s funeral in April 8, 2005. John Paul died still serving as pope, unlike Pope Benedict XXVI who voluntarily stepped down from the papacy in Feb. 28, 2013.

“The whole world got to know him and love him,” Szczykutowicz said.

Canonization is the process for sainthood. It requires two confirmed miracles contributed to the canonization candidate in which the recipients live at least five years. John Paul II is credited with curing two women suffering from seemingly fatal illnesses.

Canonization can take decades as is the case for Mother Theresa. Pope Francis sped up the process for both John Paul II and John XXIII.

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